UPDATE 1-LLOG plans drilling in U.S. Gulf near blown out BP well

HOUSTON May 13 (Reuters) - LLOG Exploration, a
privately-held oil and gas company focused on deepwater in the
Gulf of Mexico, plans to drill a well into the block near where
BP Plc's Macondo well ruptured in 2010, causing the worst
offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

LLOG Exploration, which has backers including Blackstone
Energy Partners, received approval to drill a well in Blocks 252
and 253 in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf from
regulators on April 13, according to records filed with the U.S.
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

LLOG's plans to develop the block that sits due east of the
plugged Macondo well were first reported by Subsea Engineering
News in October.

Some work has started and the Covington, Louisiana firm "is
committed to the highest level of safety, regardless of
location," Rick Fowler, vice president of deepwater projects at
LLOG said in an email.

Macondo's blow-out caused the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to
explode on April 20, 2010. The disaster left 11 workers dead and
huge stretches of the Gulf of Mexico fouled with petroleum that
gushed from the site for 87 days.

BP sold its interest in six exploration blocks located in
the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, including portions of Mississippi
Canyon Block 252 in early 2014, it said.

"Out of respect for the victims of the Deepwater Horizon
accident and to allow BP to perform any response activities
related to the accident, there is an exclusion zone covering the
original Macondo well, the two relief wells and nearby debris,
in which there will be no oil and gas operations," a BP
spokesman said in a statement.
(Reporting by Terry Wade and Anna Driver in Houston; Editing by
David Gregorio)